Broken Bangles: The Soul of Humanity is Broken

  Geopolitics and Oil Markets When the Ukraine War began, Russia halted the flow of natural gas to Europe in retaliation for NATO’s support of Ukraine . Europe also stopped buying Russian oil. Russia began selling oil at much lower prices to India and China. These two countries took advantage of the situation and gained economic momentum through refining and exporting oil products. Now, Europe buys refined oil products such as petrol and diesel from India and China. Ironically, this is the same oil Russia sells to India and China. India and China find this trade lucrative, which has also impacted the oil trade in the Gulf countries . Suddenly, the Gulf countries find India and China turning into their competitors in the Asian market. Oil and expatriates had dominated the discourse between India and the Gulf region. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shifted the focus of these relationships to defense and security, as well as the possibility of forming a politically significant gl...

  The World and Its Arms Trading Nations The United States has the largest defence budget in the world. Each year, it allocates huge amounts to developing new weapons and weapon technologies. In each conflict in which it intervenes, America has two interests: pursuing its strategic goals and boosting its defence industry by enabling weapons sales.  The facts and views about America’s economic interests in any war have been exhaustively discussed in the public domain. During the Afghan and Iraq wars, the problematic premise of US interests in global conflicts were put under scrutiny like never before. Less known is how these interests evolved in the succeeding decades. A glimpse of this change can be seen in the words of Alexander C Karp in his recent book, ‘The Technological Republic’ in which he observes that the key US industries have moved away from serving the nation and its strategic and secuirty interests and found a new boss to serve- the consumer, the king of the mark...

  The Iran-Israel Conflict Iran, the hitherto glorious empire of Persia, has had a magnificent past of cultural, academic, economic and socio-political heights. But for some time now, the country is an eyesore for the West, and its economy is in dire straits. The country’s nuclear programme and long-standing hostilities with Israel have now culminated in an all-out war.  What is Happening in Iran Now? As Israeli fighter jets rain bombs and rockets on Tehran and Iran’s nuclear sites, and in retaliation, missile barrages from Iran hit Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, two leaders and their policies hold the maximum responsibility for this devastating beginning of a new war: one is Benjamin Netanyahu and the other, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Much is known about Netanyahu, but Khamenei still remains a leader very little understood and analysed in the public sphere due to his religious stature and inaccessibility to journalists.  The relationship betwee...

  Lebanon: A Reminder Israel has begun to send missiles, bombs, and foot soldiers to Lebanon in the name of destroying Hezbollah. The US is also expected to step in if the conflict worsens. One would wonder why America has been obsessed with the Middle East. The answers are complex and related to how economically powerful countries thrive for world dominance. Lebanon has a unique place in history as the first country in the Middle East to experience a US military action.  This is the story of how the Middle East became a battleground for America. The first step was taken in Lebanon. The year was 1958. The Beginning of the US Military Action in Lebanon and the Eisenhower Doctrine A summer in Lebanon half a century back, the beachgoers of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, saw a curious sight. Boats after boats of US Marines began to arrive on the shores of Beirut. Bruce Riedel, the author of the book, ‘Beirut 1958: How America’s Wars in the Middle East Began’ (2019), writes that t...